… Kendriya Vidyalay Sangathan (KVS) has decided to set up a Zonal Institute of Education and Training (ZIET) in Bhubaneswar. This will be the fifth such institute in the country and will cater to over 350 schools of eastern region as a resource centre for states like Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand and the northeast states.

"Earlier we had to depend on other ZIETs for the purpose of conducting in-service training, refresher courses, workshop and induction courses and research activities. The ZIET in Bhubaneswar will cater to the need of not only teaching but also non-teaching staff of schools. Besides, it will also help in preparation of model lessons and study material, to plan and propose the new areas and strategies required to be incorporated during the training programme to improve the quality of education," said principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya-1, S K Behura.

The ZIET will temporarily function from KV-I till its own building will be constructed in its permanent KVS building at Bankuala, on the outskirts of the city, Behura said.

ZIET, an autonomous body under the ministry of HRD, would also ensure that the participants are provided training in the areas of subject expertise, communication skills, classroom transaction skills, evaluation skills and student-development skills. It also aims at promoting a positive work culture and attitude among teachers through training and develop a healthy attitude in teachers towards research in school education. …

"Initially ZIET will provide training to KVS staff but later will also help in capacity building of employees of all CBSE schools in the region," Behura added.

The MSC Ed, an integrated six-year course (12 semesters), introduced in 2008 is the right way to master teaching skills. Offering quality teacher education programmes is the Regional Institute of Education that include innovative pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes and relevant research, development and extension activities.

The institute started as Regional College of Education in 1963, changed the name in 1994. It is one of the five such institutions established by the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi. The other institutes are located at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Shilong.

Prior to the six-year course, there was a two-year MSC Ed course for those who had completed BSC Ed, said Regional Institute of Education Principal GT Bhandage. "It had a good response and the students from all over the country would appear for the entrance exam. This course was conceived essentially to meet the demand of the higher secondary level in specific subjects like physics, chemistry and mathematics. Students who have passed out from this course were absorbed by Navodaya and Kendriya Vidyalaya," added Bhandage.

In 2008, MSC Ed course was introduced after completion of II PUC or equivalent. The idea was to catch them young and train them with pedagogic skills and develop adequate content competency crucial to a teacher education programme, said Bhandage.

The six years integrated course is a combination of BSc and MSC. The first four years, students study physics, chemistry and mathematics while in fifth and final year they can choose a specialization subject.

After completion of the course one can get into Higher Secondary Schools or can do research.

… The admissions are made on all India basis through an entrance exam. The selection will be based on the performance in the qualifying exam and entrance exam.

For details log on to www.riemysore.ac.in or call 514515/ 2514095.

RIE Mysore has a website at www.riemysore.ac.in. I have not been able to find a web site for RIE Bhubaneswar. I wonder if RIE Bhubaneswar offers such a course.

Considering the implementation of RTE, there is a big need for more and better trained teachers and educational administrators (headmasters, principals, vice-principals, etc.). To achieve that the government of India should upgrade the RIEs to National Institutes of Education and make them Institutions of National Importance. This will attract the attention of more good students towards a teaching and teaching administration career. The government should incraese the number of seats and number of programs in these institutes and intrdoce programs for creating top-notch Educational administrators.

Realising the increasing role of counsellors to guide school students with diligence during tough times, NCERT has decided to change the format of its diploma programme in counselling from next session and raise the seat strength to make it accessible to more aspirants.

The redesigned programme called International Diploma Course in Guidance and Counselling will now be available through both distance/online as well as face to face modes.

… The programme will also be extended to the five Regional Institute of Education (RIEs), situated in Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Mysore and Shillong, instead of only in Delhi," sources added. Each centre will have 50 seats each.

So far, the programme was only being imparted in Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations here in the capital.

The repackaged course, developed in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning, Canada, will comprise three phases.

The first six months would be devoted to guided self learning through distance and online mode, the next three months to intensive face to face training and the remaining period will be focused on internship.

Classes of the one year programme will start from January next year.

The course is open for in-service teachers, untrained guidance personnel with a teaching degree and post graduates in psychology, child development and human resource development among others.

Yesterday’s Dahritri has a column by senior columnist Barendra Kumar Dhal [1,2,3,4,5,6] where he lists the various initiatives and projects taken up during Biju Patnaik’s government of 1961-67. I am amazed by the list which includes many HRD institutions. Here are some of the highlights.